Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Eurythmics' Dave Stewart Unveils Photos Of His Famous Friends
Musician Dave Stewart, best known as one half of the eighties band Eurythmics, is also an accomplished photographer, who's been creating portraits of friends like Bjork, Sinead O'Connor and Mick Jagger, for years.
His new photo exhibit, Dave Stewart: Jumpin' Jack Flash & The Suicide Blonde, opens today at the Morrison Hotel Gallery at the Sunset Marquis.
Stewart told LAist his love of photography goes back to his childhood. "The first time I really fell in love with imagery was my father used to shoot on a little 8mm Kodak Cine camera, films of us when we went on a little holiday. He would put a sheet on the wall and my mum would make new potatoes with mint and butter and salt and we'd invite the neighbors in. We all used to watch this flickering image. Black-and-white, me and my brother running around. It was only later I realized it had a really massive, lasting effect."
He later used his dad's own movie camera to make something more than home movies. "Years later—I wish I'd thrown in one of these pictures, actually—Bob Dylan said, 'Let's make a little film.' So I shot one with my dad's little Cine camera of Bob in a top hat. I remember when I was shooting it, thinking, 'This is the thing.'"
Support for LAist comes from
He ventured into still photography as a necessity in the early days of Eurythmics. "We didn't really have any money. I don't think a lot of people actually believed in us. I just said, 'Fuck it, I'll do it myself.' So I learned how to engineer and I learned how to operate a stills camera. I took the photo for our single "Never Gonna Cry Again." It was just Annie [Lennox], she had this white face mask on and a towel on her head and this African necklace on. I said, 'Oh, that looks really cool.' We were in a hotel room. I asked her to roll her eyes back, so you just saw the whites of her eyes. And that was the single cover. And I was like, 'Ahh. It's not so mythologically complex.' That's the beginning."
He's become quite in demand with his musician and actor friends, partly because his approach is so simple. He doesn't have a studio or any assistants or makeup artists. He does it all himself, mostly at his own home. "They have a terrible time doing photo sessions, a lot of time there's all these lights and it's costing a fortune and they don't like it when they come back."
Most of the photos in the exhibit—Demi Moore, Mick Jagger and Bjork— were taken at his London apartment, although he now lives in Los Angeles. The one of Former French First Lady Carla Bruni rather surprisingly "smoking a big, fat joint," was taken in the South of France. "That was a long time ago," Stewart explained, "before she married [Nicolas] Sarkozy. I think she was only about 23 there."
His favorite photo in the exhibit is the one of Bjork looking angelic in front of a flowery backdrop he built himself, wearing a shirt that reads "Enjoy Cock." "It's all like, sweet and innocent," he laughs of the juxtapostion. He's also fond of the contact sheet he printed for his "Bjork in Space" shot, which he refers to as "Bjork in Spaces."
Morrison Hotel Gallery
Sunset Marquis Hotel
1200 Alta Loma Road
Los Angeles, CA 90069
(310) 881-6025
Open 7 days a week from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
The L.A. City Council approved the venue change Wednesday, which organizers say will save $12 million in infrastructure costs. -
Taxes on the sale of some newer apartment buildings would be lowered under a plan by Sacramento lawmakers to partially rein in city Measure ULA.
-
The union representing the restaurant's workers announced Tuesday that The Pantry will welcome back patrons Thursday after suddenly shutting down six months ago.
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake.
-
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
Best of LAist